Expat VPN Guide 2019 - Unblock TV With a VPN for Expats

Moving to another country is exciting. Moving introduces you to new life experiences and a new culture. It is an adventure waiting to happen. However, after shaking off the jet lag, you may also be left with some serious homesickness. A natural way to combat this is to get on WhatsApp or Skype to chat with family and friends. You might even get the urge to watch TV from back home.

Unfortunately, when you go to do those things, you might experience some problems. Many countries block apps like WhatsApp and Skype. In addition to this, home-based TV stations are likely to be geo-restricted due to copyright reasons. Luckily, a VPN can allow you to pretend to be back home - so that you can use the internet like you usually would.

What is an Expat?

An expat, short for expatriate, is a person that lives in a different location than which they were born in. There are dozens of reasons why a person might choose to become an expat - from job opportunities and education - to falling in love with a person from another country. Whatever the reason, expats find themselves in a new home with a new culture and new surroundings.

While expats are often referred to as one homogeneous group, it’s important to remember that each expat is an individual in their own right. As such, it’s not uncommon for an expat to search for something to remind them of their home country. That “something” could be different for each individual, although most times it ends up being a food, a tradition, or even a TV show.

Sadly, living life abroad as if you were at home is not always easy. One of the biggest things is dealing with website blocks and geo-restricted content. While foods and traditions are usually simple to recreate, accessing certain TV shows and websites are another story. Fortunately, it is possible with the use of an expat VPN.

What is an expat VPN?

An expat VPN lets you access geo-restricted content and blocked websites by spoofing your location. By using an expat VPN, you’re able to access TV shows from your home country in a secure and private way. In addition to this, an expat VPN can also help you access websites like WhatsApp and Facebook that are blocked in some countries.

My Expat VPN

In a 2017 survey, nearly 13,000 expats were asked to rank 43 assorted aspects of living life abroad. This included the top countries for expats to move to. While the US and UK dropped quite a bit from 2016’s study, Mexico, Spain, and Colombia were in the top ten choices out of the 65 countries listed. For this reason, we’ve decided to advise expats in the following countries: Spain, Mexico, Colombia, US, and UK.

VPN for Expats in Spain

Despite Spain being an open and democratic country with strong data privacy laws, the Spanish government does participate in some intense anti-piracy policies that limit your TV options. Furthermore, TV streaming services like Netflix and Hulu block access to the library content of other countries – meaning you’re stuck with whatever Spain has to offer.

Fortunately, an expat VPN can solve this problem. In addition to accessing the TV shows you couldn’t access before, an expat VPN will also help protect your digital footprints and connections – even through public WiFi hotspots. Furthermore, if you wish to torrent something while residing in Spain, an expat VPN can help you do so without getting compromised by your ISP, the government or local network administrators.

VPN for Expats in Mexico

If Spanish is a language you can speak, Mexico has endless entertainment options for you to access. If you’re an expat living in Mexico, however, you might find it difficult to keep up with the intense attributes of Mexican soap-operas. In addition to this, Mexico is a country that offers very expensive broadband options. This means, if you’re an expat living in Mexico, you might frequent free public WiFi hotspots as opposed to paying for your own internet service.

While this is definitely convenient, it is also dangerous. Public WiFi hotspots are ideal places for hackers to compromise your passwords, credit card data, logins, and other sensitive information: not to mention the surveillance of Mexican authorities. On the bright side, the solution to these issues is simple: use an expat VPN. By using an expat VPN in Mexico, you’re able to protect your online activities from surveillance and hackers, all while accessing your favorite TV shows from back home.

VPN for Expats in Colombia

If you’re an expat living abroad in Colombia, you might find it difficult to access the TV shows you want to watch from back home. In addition to this, Colombia’s online privacy laws are a bit hazy. While there are no special punishments for libel, defamation, irresponsible journalism or rumormongering online, there are several high profile cases with conflicting conclusions.

For example, in 2014, Gonzalo Lopez was sent to trial for insulting a public officer in the comment section of an online newspaper. Despite Lopez doing so anonymously, his IP address was traced back to him and he was sentenced to 18 months in prison with a fine of $5,200. While this isn’t the case for every Colombia citizen, it’s enough to make you want the solution: an expat VPN.

By using an expat VPN in Colombia, you’re able to keep your data private and your online activities safe from prying eyes. In addition, you can access geo-restricted content from TV streaming services like Netflix and Hulu - by pretending to be in a country that has a better catalog.

VPN for Expats in United Kingdom

If you’re an expat living in the UK, you might be unaware of the intense government surveillance that is implemented by UK authorities. In addition to granting the government permission to hack into the computers of its citizens, the UK also forces some companies to weaken the security of their encrypted products by uploading backdoors into the servers. What’s worse? Those companies are bound by law to keep quiet if instructed to do so (gag order).

By using an expat VPN in the UK, you’re exercising your right to online privacy and security. When you use the right VPN, you’re preventing government surveillance opportunities, all while accessing the geographically restricted content of TV streaming services like Netflix US and Hulu. In addition, using an expat VPN will help keep you safe from the prying eyes of third parties like hackers and cyber criminals on public WiFi.

For more information on the best expat VPN for the UK, visit our Best UK VPN guide.

VPN for Expats in United States

For expats living in the US, an expat VPN is necessary. To start, using an expat VPN will keep you safe from the prying eyes of the NSA. Furthermore, as the US is a member of the Five Eyes surveillance alliance. It also enforces warrants and gag orders that force firms to hand over all consumer data while keeping it secret. In addition, ISPs are permitted to retain and sell consumers web browsing habits indefinitely, yikes.

By using an expat VPN, you can browse the internet in a secure, private setting while accessing your favorite TV shows from country-specific libraries on TV streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. In addition, you can participate in P2P activities without concerns about being monitored.

That’s only the beginning. Using an expat VPN can also help you get around blocks put in place by a school, landlord, or workplace. In today’s world, especially in the US, there’s only one way to truly stay as private as possible: use a VPN.

Expat VPN Considerations

There are a variety of things to consider when choosing an expat VPN – from the speed and security of the servers to the number of locations on offer. As such, it’s important to consider all factors before settling on one VPN. After all, what good is using a VPN to access country-specific libraries if their server locations don’t include the country whose library you want to access? Some things to look for include:

Performance (speed/leaks/etc)

Number of servers

Server locations

Logs policy (no logs is preferred)

Country VPN is based in

Level of encryption/ protocols offered

Additional security features

Expat Guide: Conclusion

If you’re an expat living abroad, an expat VPN can help you feel more at home in a place that is unfamiliar. What's more, an expat VPN can help you access your favorite home-based TV shows while protecting your online privacy. Regardless of what country you reside in, practicing security and privacy online is extremely important.

A VPN will help protect you from government surveillance and WiFi hacking attempts. To find a VPN for a specific location please look here. Most importantly, an expat VPN can help you exercise your right to a free internet.

Mandee Rose has been an advert for cyber security for 5+ years, working to spread knowledge via her technical writing and investigative journaling. Her work is centered around a variety of infosec topics including data breaches, digital surveillance, and of course, VPNs. You can follow her on Twitter at @Mand33InfoSec.